James Hansford at the Zoological Society of London and his colleagues have now found evidence of an earlier human presence. On 10,000-year-old bones of extinct elephant birds — once the world’s largest bird — the researchers found cut marks left by human butchers.

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Nearly a decade ago, researchers recovered the elephant bird bones near the Christmas River in southern Madagascar. Carbon dating indicated they were more than 10,000 years old. Although no tools or other human-made products were discovered at the site, Hanford and his colleagues have now realised that the bones carry scratch marks that look like impacts from stone blades. Hansford compared the cut marks with previously identified tool marks on animal bones and modern butchery marks, and concluded that they were made by humans.

Elephant bird paradise

“Tool use on fresh bones leaves unmistakable patterns,” Hansford says. “No natural erosion process could have made these marks.”

Madagascar was once a paradise for elephant birds, giant lemurs and dwarf hippopotamus – but all three went extinct within the last 1000 years. This is when human settlements on the island became more numerous, which suggests our species had a role in the extinctions.

However, the new research may indicate that humans managed to coexist with the animals for 9000 years before the extinctions. However, Hansford points out that the new findings don’t necessarily mean that humans had a permanent presence on the island throughout that time.